Chapter 58 - The Lower Stage(1) 

The five of them examined each other. They knew not to be arrogant and assessed their opponent.

Dean Forst, one of the Aztec's Four-star, carried an undisturbed expression, full of confidence, as he crossed his hands behind his back in a gentlemanly manner.

Cheyenne Aztec, the most notorious teenager, kept her playful smile. At the corner of her eyes, she teasingly grinned at her opponents as she held a large spear in her hand, which just seemed too big for her.

Alexander Grant, a stall and stout young man with deep-set brown eyes and short, curly, brown hair. He had an intimidating appearance as he inspected his competitors.

Ollie Butler, a scrawny young man, stared deeply at his friend, now opponent, Marley Tyson, a large-eyed teenager.

They seemed to enter an agreement as they nodded at each other.

Kenia Sharp was perhaps the most inconspicuous among the five competitors. It didn't help that she kept minimal eye contact with the other four. It also didn't help that she kept looking down at the stage floor.

Clearly, she lacked confidence and her opponents picked on that!

Each of the teenagers on the stage had their own circumstances. They had their drives and their motivations.

So, despite her flawed character, Kenia didn't back down. She had to win. She must win! She owed it to her mother to win!

An autocratic voice sounded in the voice of the five competitors, "Match 1 - Start."

The first one to move was Dean Forst.

He threatened the others, "I'm going to battle Cheyenne Aztec. Don't disturb me or I will be required to eliminate you!"

His menacing voice disturbed the other who felt the full brunt of his confidence.

"Arrogant! What makes you sure that you can command us?" scoffed Alexander Grant.

Despite not being part of the Four Stars, Alexander was also confident in his strength and considered himself capable of taking any of the Four Stars on.

Ollie took advantage of the situation and tried to recruit one member into his team, "Kenia, how about you join us? With our combined strength, we will be able to take on at least one of them."

He moved closer to Marley to signify their joint alliance and asked Kenia to join them.

Ollie wasn't dumb. He saw no chance of winning with just his individual strength. It was better to make alliances than to fight individually.

So, when he was grouped with one of his friends, Marley. He became overjoyed and quickly entered an alliance with Marley.

Still, he feared that wasn't enough. He had heard of the amazing power of the Four Stars. He knew not to underestimate them.

As soon as he saw the weak side of Kenia, he picked her as a te

amate. She was just what he needed.

He could identify the familiar look of desperation on her face.

He smiled at her, "With our combined strength, we can at least stand our ground."

It was unknown what went through Kenia's head but she accepted the invitation, "Ok."

"Good," nodded Marley and Ollie.

Now they felt more confident.

However, their opponents didn't seem to be bothered.

The stronger ones were unconcerned with the so-called alliance.

Alexander repeated his question, "Tell me, why should I listen to you?"

With an annoyed smile, Dean replied, "Because it will be in your best interest."

He pointed his hands at Ollie and a bright blue light coursed through it and flew to his target.

Flying in the hair like a bird, the blue light hit the face of Ollie, blasting him all the way to the edge of the stage.

"What?!" exclaimed Ollie, crying out in pain as he just witnessed impossible.

A reddish bruise appeared on his forehead.

His trembling eyes failed him as he stood up still in shock at what happened.

He touched his injury, trying to check its authenticity. After ascertaining it, he reached a terrifying conclusion.

"You have attained [Realm-2]"

That could be the only explanation for this impossible feat.

It was widely known that [Realm-2] cultivators were able to control [Spirit Essence] outside of their bodies.

This would give them a wide variety of attack styles. Unlike, [Realm-1], where they could only use basic moves and attack styles.

That was exactly what Dean did. He shot out his [Spirit Essence]!

"Yes, I have broken through to [Realm-2], the Spring Realm," smiled Dean.

He reckoned he might be the only one to have achieved this feat. Heck, He was possibly the youngest to do this, breaking through to [Realm-2] at the age of 16!

"Do you understand now?" threatened Dean at the other competitors.

Clenching his fist, Alexander acquiesced, "Ok."

He didn't want to fight Dean now that he knew the latter true cultivation base. It would be detrimental to himself and the consequences might hinder him later.

Alexander reluctantly walked up to the Ollie and Co.

He strode without any weapon, as his technique didn't require him to have one.

Adjusting his stance, he took a deep breath and jumped at the trio.

....

Seeing that they followed his words, Dean couldn't help but smile.

That was what he had worked hard for, the authority.

However, the smile was short-lived as he focused on Cheyenne, who kept smiling at him.

He thought, 'Father's mission was to embarrass any Aztecs I meet on the stage. I will make do with the princess.'

Throughout his life, Dean had learned not to disobey his father. The consequences of such action might lead to a disabled body.

Even though he sometimes wondered why his father gave him the task, he knew not to question.

It was better not knowing. He should just obey.

Despite being composed Dean twitched at the carefree manner of Cheyenne, 'As expected of the prankster. Nothing fazes her.'

He clapped his hands in cordiality, "Princess Cheyenne, forgive me."

He flicked his fingers and launched an energy bolt at the princess.

It was the first ability he learned after reaching [Realm-2]. The ability to send basic energy projectiles.

He was hoping to finish the battle quickly in a strong display of superiority.

Yet, contrary to his expectation, the princess dodged it swiftly.

She didn't talk while doing so, but her expression said it all. It was too weak for her!

Seeing this Dean was not unsettled. The basic energy projectiles were his weakest attacks. It might have been too much for him to expect the princess to fall under it.

He wondered, 'What is her cultivation base? I can't tell, but I can feel that it is not yet at [Realm-2].'

All cultivators have a special resonance with one another. They were able to tell the cultivation base of their fellow cultivators as long as it was not too high for them.

It was like a special frequency that cultivators emit when harnessing [Spirit Essence]. It was weak, but cultivators could still pick on it.

Nevertheless, there was a way to block this "frequency". This could be achieved by semi-consciously controlling oneself from absorbing [Spirit Essence] when not needed, as the body absorbs [Spirit Essence] every time, just like breathing, but it is weaker compared to the conscious absorption. It required an abnormal level of control!

The moment Dean had the thought, he dismissed it. There was no way she could have achieved something like that. She was too young. Even his father had not achieved such a state.

He stopped thinking about her cultivation base and determined her to be weaker than him. That was all that mattered!

Like an instrumentalist, he fired energy projectiles at her, trying to trap her in a spot.

This time the projectiles were faster and deadlier as he had increased his control of them.

While appearing careless, he studied her movement, trying to find her weak spots.

He was not bothered with his energy reserve. One of the differences between [Realm-1] and [Realm-2] was the creation of permanent energy storage, which existed at his dantian(stomach region).

Dean applied pressure on Cheyenne, increasing the speed of his attacks, but he did not get a satisfactory result.

The latter had bested when it came to defending and evading.

She began getting frustrated with the increasing attacks and decided to be done with it once and for all.

She dashed at Dean at a fast speed, almost rivaling Jake's speed, and stabbed her spear forward at Dean's stomach.

She was not that lucky, as Dean finally moved from his stationary position.

He brought out his broadsword to parry her spear attack.

*Clang!*

The clash generated a shockwave that swept dust into the eyes of the spectators, proof of the strength behind the attacks.

...….

King Caspian, from his seat, watched his daughter fight.

Having known her for long, he noticed that she seemed different, while still acting the same.

He wryly smiled, 'Perhaps she started to change after that incident.'

After noticing his opponent of his daughter, he looked at the noble sector to have a chat with the parents of the child, but he could not find them.

He signaled one of his guards to bend his ear forward as he whispered, "Where is Duke Forst?"

"Your Highness, Duke Forst has not been present since the start of the competition."

Lifting his eyebrows, King Capsian said, "That is weird. He always attends every year."

Under his vigilant vibe, he noticed some other empty seats in the noble sectors.

He asked his guards about them and was told that they belong to some missing nobles.

"They should at least have a representative. Call them for me!" instructed the King.

Five minutes later, the representative of each noble house was in front of him.

He asked them about the situation of their Heads.

"Your Highness, the Duke is writing his last instruction to his territory security. He said the King will understand," replied Noble House Forst's representative.

The others also gave similar replies.

After dismissing them, King Caspian was about to summoned one of his five sub-ordinates when he heard the spectators cheer loudly.

It turned out that Cheyenne had made a brilliant counter at Dean.

Watching this, the King smiled, "I will inform my subordinates later, but now, I should, for once, play the part of a father."